Means for propelling vessels



H. A. J. DE B. NACHENIUS. MEANS Fon PROPELLING vEssELs. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23, 192|.

Patented Nov. 28, 1922.

l f 10 1o L; 1 l *fw f7@ mwen/u2 E21 BlTa/akelul w l l. l l r f Patented Nov. 28, 1922.

Unire f stares PATENT orrlc.

HENRI ARNOLD JOHANNES DE BIJ LL NACHENIUS, OF HAARLEM, NETHERLANDS.

MEANS ron. :PROPELLING vnssnLs.

Applicationl ined r'ebr'uary 2e, 1921. serial No. 447,253.

ToaZZ whom it may concern,

Be it known that I, HENRI ARNOLD Jol-'IAN- Nns Dn -BULL NAcHnNIUs, a subject, .of the Queen of Holland, residingat Haarlem, Netherlands, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for Propellng Vessels, of which the following 1s a specification. f. 'Y

The presentinvention relates to Vmeans for ,propelling'vessels n 4 It has frequently been proposed to discharge' highly compressedv gas ,in arearward direction belowthe water line of a-vessel,

in the form of aV number of thin propulsion jets, and to derivey from the reaction of said .s gas jets 4upon the'ou'tlet' openings` ai propelling effect on the vessel. VIn this connection reference maybe yhad to lBritish ypatent speciication No. `4231 1A. 13.1906. These known methods, however, have ne practical value as i the' efficiency yof, the energy` accumulated 1n the compressed'gas is prohlbitlvelylow.-

The present'invention is as in thefabove method, .based upon thedischarge` of gas b elow the water level, but ischaracterized 1n that the, gasfoutlet pressure is not, or not considerably liigherthan the water` pressure vat the outlet, so that thedesired propelling effect is brought,aboutlsubstantially owing to the difference between the specific weight yof .7, the gas and of the water.,V

. It may also be noted here that withthe old method, the gas will under certain -conlditions by the difference between its specific weight yand that of the water, produce `a slight propelling effect, though, unless spel cial provision be' made forv utilizing this, it

will be extremely small.A Owing to the khigh outlet pressure however, at which the gas has formerly been discharged from thejets, it has been forced to a considerable distance ythrough the water before rising to the water level, and thuspractically no advantage is' taken of the differencebetween .the Aspecific weightsof the gas and thewater.

According to my. novel method, however, therenced be no reaction .upon the gas outp let` openings, and with a sufficiently high kspeed of the vessel, the gas outlet pressure can yeveny be somewhat lower than the water pressure yat the outlet. y

In order to obtain `a satisfactory speed when applying .the novel method considerable quantities '.ofgas A,must be discharged.

VSaid quantities are s o great that it would be praetically impossiblev to discharge. vsame through tubes as has'been proposed in the aforementioned patent specification. n

y,According to this invention the gas is "preferably allowed to rise to thewaterlevel along an upwardlyinclined plane forming gas exerts a pressure, the horizontal component of which has a tendencyto drive the ship forward. It can beeasily demonstrated that this propelling force is a function of' fthe verticaldistance between the water level `and thegas outlet opening (generally speaking the draught of the vessel) and is, at

least theoretically, independent of the anlgle between the horizontal planeand4 that along which t-he gas,y rises te the surface.v

A vesselva'ccordng to this invention is way ofexample described hereinafter with 'reference to the accompanying illustrative the stern of the vessel upon which plane the l The hull of the ship may be `lassumedlto I have been obtained by cutting from the hull yof an ordinary. screw ship,- the rear'part bellow the water line and replacing the same by an inclined plane surface l extending through the full width of the midship section. The bottom of the vessel is provided on theunderside with five parallel webs or ridges 2fof about 30 centimetresheightand running through almost the entire length of they yessel. In the forepart of the ship is the engine, room 3 which contains 4the motors and .the air compressors. The compressed air is delivered by means of two main pipes 4, which rise above the water line, to two reservoirs 5 located thwart-ships and arranged endto endsee Figs. 3 and 4E). Said reservoirs are formed by the bottom plate 6., the tank top 7 and the front and rear walls or cross bulkheads 8. They are. separatedy by a;

'longitudinal bulkhead or partition 9.

In the bottom plate 6 of both reservoirs 5 are ahnumber of holes 10 provided side by side and each measuring say 50 centimetres ,inalength and 20 centimetres in width.` At.

a distance of say 8 centimetres below said bottom plate two plates li j are pivotally mounted on horizontal transverse `shafts 11a vand 1lb, one plate being mounted kunder each reservoir The said plates are adapted to be swung by their shafts to direct the air 'from the openings l0 either forwardly or rearwardly.

Each of; the valves or plates l1 consists,

of a simple sheet or metal adapted to oscillate about a horizontal aXis lllor libextending at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the vessel. sheet is mounted at av short distance from the bottom of the vessel, so that either its Jfront edge or its rearedge may conta'ct'with the bottom ot' the vessel when the sheetis oscillatedby suitable mechanisn'i, not shown,y vso `that the airescapes through an elongated slot, either at the rear side or at the frontl The air discharged through the openings l0 without, orat least without an appreciable 'overpressure and directedrearwardly'ior instance, 'passes under the bottom through the channels-formed between the 'parallel webs 2 and rises along the inclined surface l to the water level, thereby exerting 'a :torwardly direct-ed pressure upon the vessel. When the supply olf airis reduced or shut off from either of the reservoirs 5 by means of valves la provided in the starboard and port dischargetubes the progression of the vessel" will be towards ystarboard or port. Said valves are adapted to be operated by a steering wheelon the bridge. lThe rudder and steering gear may thus be dispensed with. Said method of steering` doesnot entail losses of power because the compressed air may be allowed to flow into the other tube when the one tube is shut off. When it is desired to turn the vessel quickly, the air from one of the reservoirs may be directed forwardly and 'in this manner the ship is for instance forced 'forwardly by the air flowing throughA` the port channel and rearwardly by the air flowing through the starboard channel.

The valves 4a are preferably'constructed in such a manner that the air may it'necessar'y bev allowed to escapeinto the atmosphere. Said valves may be operable from the bridge so ythat the propelling effect of the air 'may be terminated while the engines are still running.

` The ship may be propelled stern'war'ds discharging airalong the prow. 'W'ith the usual construction of ship they efficiency will not be very satisfactory, but this tact is of minor importance. Moreover` as long as vthe ship' is still going forward, the plates 1l may be turned by suitable controllingmeans (not shown) and the compressed air may simultaneously be allowed to blow oli so as rto permit water to enter the reservoirs By subsequently expelling' this water forkwardly by means' or' compressed air, a. power- Ful rearwardly vpropelling eliect is realized.

Although it is not possible to accurately determine theoretically theelliciency of the novel method, actual experiments' have It will be noted that the `from its front to a point adjacent its rea-r ylVit'h 'the ordinary shipspiopeller, i'vhich acts on a comparatively very smallarea of water, great'losses due to lrictionand slip 80 are unzwoidablev owing to the considerable speed ot' the propeller blades and the consequential l'violent movement of thewater.4

It desired, the exhaust gases from the motors may be dischargedinto the compressed' air tubeswhereby the power' usedfor expelling said gases from the motor cylinders is used for the propulsion of the vessel.

` Having now 'particularly 'described and l;

ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the sam'e 'is to be per- `formed, 'I declare that what I claim isbn--` l. The combination with a vessel'hul'l having a' substantially flat bottomlextendi'ng end and an inclined plane surface'exten'ding upwardly iromthis point to the' stern ofthe hull, ofA a .series of spaced ribs gprojecting from said' 'bottom and er'tending lonlgitudin'ally of the hull and forming inverted 100 channels,v apertures arranged in theb'ottom of the hull adjacent to the orward'ei'id thereofand opening into said channels, and means for discharging 'compressedgas at a pressure substantially' equal to the water 105 nressure throuoh` said aaertures and `into said channels, whereby when the hull isinoving 'forwardly through the' water, said 'will travel rearwardly along'said 'channels and. then 'upwardly along' the inclined :plane 110 to drive the yessel forwardly, said means including a plurality of reseryoirs arranged end to end and extending transversely vof said hull, and a` valve controlled'pipe connectedto each oi said reservoirs, so that when compressed gas is supplied to one of said reservoirs the same may be employed for steering the hull.

2. The combination with a vessel hullhav ing a substantially flat bottomextending 120 troni its front to a point adjacentjit-s rear end and an inclined plane surface extending upwardly from this point to the'stern of the hull, of a series ot spaced ribs projecting from said bottom and extendinglongitudinally of the hull and forming inverted cha-nnels,` apertures arranged in thefbottom of the hull adj acent'to the forward end thereot and openingl intosaid channels, means for discharging compressed"gas,` 'at a pressure 130 Substantially equal to the water pressure, through said apertures and into saidchanf nels, whereby when the hull ismoving forwardly through the water, said gas will travel rearwardly along said channels and then upwardly along the inclined plane to drive the vessel forwardly, and pivoted plates arranged in said channels adjacent to said apertures for directing the compressed gas forwardly or rearwardly.

3. In combination, a vessel hull having a bottom provided with a rearwardly extending upwardly inclined plane, ribs projecting downwardly from said bottom and forming inverted channels arranged side by side and extending substantially the entire length of the bottom of said hull, a transversely arranged series of apertures lprovided in the bottom of said hull and opening into said channels, a'plurality of reservoirs for furnishing compressed gas to said apertures, arranged end to end and extending transversely'within the hull, a valved pipe for conveyingv compressed gasat substantially the same `pressure as the water in the channels to each of said reservoirs, and means mounted in said channels for directing the compressed gas passing through said apertures either forwardly or rear wardly. l

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HENRI ARNOLD JOHANNES de BIJLL NACHENIUS. 

